Two students open fire at Colorado school, killing 1, wounding 7 others

[webfact]

Two students open fire at Colorado school, killing 1, wounding 7 others

By Keith Coffman

 

video screenshot

 

HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. (Reuters) - Two male students armed with guns burst into a Denver-area science and technology school and opened fire on Tuesday, killing one classmate and wounding seven others before being taken into custody, law enforcement officials said.

 

Several of the surviving victims of the attack at the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) School in Highlands Ranch, a Denver suburb, were initially listed in critical condition at local hospitals and in surgery, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said at a briefing.

 

Multiple students were hurt on Tuesday in a shooting at a Denver area school, the local sheriff said, and two people were taken into custody as authorities searched for a possible third suspect. Gavino Garay reports.

 

One of those victims, an 18-year-old male, later died of his injuries, Spurlock said a short time later.

 

"Two individuals walked into the STEM school, got deep inside the school, and engaged students in two separate locations," Spurlock said.

 

The suspects were identified only as two male students of the school, one an adult and the other under age 18, the sheriff said. The school serves students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

 

Television images showed police vehicles gathered outside a suburban house about 2 miles from the school, where one of the suspect was believed to live.

 

Sheriff's deputies arrived at the school, located about 25 miles (40 km) south of Denver, within two minutes of the first reports, Spurlock said, and "engaged the suspects."

 

Law enforcement officials declined to comment on a possible motive for the rampage, saying it was too early in the course of the investigation, which was being assisted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed on the shooting.

 

The shooting occurred less than a month after the 20th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre in nearby Littleton, about five miles (8 km) from the Highlands Ranch school. In 1999, two Columbine students killed 13 people there before committing suicide in what remains one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

 

A man who identified himself as Fernando Montoya said his 17-year-old son, a junior at STEM, was shot three times, and that one of his friends was also wounded.

 

Montoya said his son told him that one shooter walked into his classroom and opened fire with a gun. One shooter was already in the classroom, the son told his father.

 

"He said a guy pulled a pistol out of a guitar case and started to shoot,” Montoya told ABC affiliate Denver 7.

 

WEEPING STUDENTS

As the incident unfolded, medical helicopters landed and took off outside the school, while snipers took up position on nearby roofs. SWAT team officers with rifles secured the area as ambulances and police officers arrived.

 

Stunned kindergartners and weeping high school students could be seen walking down the steps of a building designated as a "reunification centre." Most were holding their parents' hands.

 

Colorado Governor Jared Polis said he was sending additional state law enforcement officials to the scene.

 

"We are making all of our public safety resources available to assist the Douglas County Sheriff's Department in their effort to secure the site and evacuate the students," Polis wrote on Twitter. 

 

The White House offered a message of condolence. “Our prayers are with the victims, family members, and all those affected by today’s shooting," White House spokesman Judd Deere said. "The White House has been in communication with state and local officials, and the President has been briefed and continues to monitor the ongoing situation.”

 

Some of the worst mass shootings in the United States have occurred in Colorado. In addition to Columbine, a man opened fire at a movie theatre in Aurora, another Denver suburb, in 2012, killing 12 people and injuring scores more.

 

Tuesday's bloodshed in Colorado came one week to the day after a gunman opened fire on the Charlotte campus of the University of North Carolina, killing two people and wounding four others. A 22-year-old former student of the university has been charged with murder and attempted murder in the case.

 

(Reporting by Keith Coffman in Highlands Ranch, Colo.; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles, Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico, and Peter Szekely in New York; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Leslie Adler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-08

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[Carib]

Get more guns, it will no doubt be the answer again. And lets not forget the useless prayers and thoughts. I wonder when in time the point will be reached that it will be a daily occurence, weekly is almost set up already. 

[darksidedog]

When will America wake up to the fact that the ease of access to a gun in their country is ludicrous? Last week, I said this sort of thing is becoming a weekly event and one week to the day, here we go again. NRA be damned!

[Tug]

Time for gun control and that doesent mean taking your guns it’s oversite to be sure you are responsible enough to own it

Edited May 8, 2019 by Tug

[scorecard]

8 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

When will America wake up to the fact that the ease of access to a gun in their country is ludicrous? Last week, I said this sort of thing is becoming a weekly event and one week to the day, here we go again. NRA be damned!

Good question, seems like the answer is (sadly) never!

[Spidey]

Just another day in the wild, wild West.

[quandow]

Thank gawd students are willing to give up their lives to defend gun owners' rights to own weapons.

 

 

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by quandow

[spidermike007]

Fortunately, the number one terrorist organization in the US, the NRA, is on it's knees and it appears this malicious organization is about to collapse. They have been a heinous force in American politics, and their insistence on stupid and ignorant policy has lead to thousands of civilian deaths, and the spread of firearms to the point where the nation is completely out of control. 

 

Nothing wrong with Americans being able to own a weapon. But not assault rifles. 3% of Americans own 17 guns, or more. And background checks need to be far more stringent. And gun shows have to be eliminated entirely. The nation is broken. Can it be fixed? Personally, as an American, I think it is way beyond repair. 

Edited May 8, 2019 by spidermike007

[Berkshire]

22 minutes ago, scorecard said:

32 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

When will America wake up to the fact that the ease of access to a gun in their country is ludicrous? Last week, I said this sort of thing is becoming a weekly event and one week to the day, here we go again. NRA be damned!

Good question, seems like the answer is (sadly) never!

Yeap, won't happen in our lifetimes.  So in the mean time, more Americans will die from gun violence.  Guaranteed.  We put the elected officials into office, so this is the America we deserve.  I'll keep repeating that because it's the truth. 

[MaxYakov]

58 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Fortunately, the number one terrorist organization in the US, the NRA, is on it's knees and it appears this malicious organization is about to collapse. They have been a heinous force in American politics, and their insistence on stupid and ignorant policy has lead to thousands of civilian deaths, and the spread of firearms to the point where the nation is completely out of control. 

 

Nothing wrong with Americans being able to own a weapon. But not assault rifles. 3% of Americans own 17 guns, or more. And background checks need to be far more stringent. And gun shows have to be eliminated entirely. The nation is broken. Can it be fixed? Personally, as an American, I think it is way beyond repair. 

What's an assault rifle? (Hint: A common misconception quashed - AR = Armalite (https://www.armalite.com/) not Assault Rifle as in AR15).

 

The big question out to be: Why did not the school have adequate protection from attack by armed person(s) and a smuggled firearm? Did you notice how the attack was stopped, BTW?

 

I'd drop the "NRA is a malicious/terrorist organization" BS if I were you. It is neither constructive nor accurate and calling the NRA names does nothing to help solve the firearms problem in the US.

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by MaxYakov

[Jingthing]

When will America wake up to the fact that the ease of access to a gun in their country is ludicrous? Last week, I said this sort of thing is becoming a weekly event and one week to the day, here we go again. NRA be damned!

Never.

Sent from my Lenovo A7020a48 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[lannarebirth]

I had been thinking this was a pretty good year as far as school shootings go. It's always worse near the beginning of the school year and near the end of the school year.  Hormones. And guns of course.

[madmen]

More thoughts and prayers until the next one followed by more thoughts and prayers. CLEARLY prayers aint working

[milwaukeeboy]

Those were people responsible for the shooting. And they should be held responsible.

And the politicians and military who authorize the slaying of innocent people in Yemen, Libya, Syria, etc. should also be held responsible.

A gun is a valuable tool for self defense and should NEVER be taken from anyone who is not abusing it.

Civilians should be allowed to own the same weapons that the police and military use.

Only naive idealistic people who trust their lying, paid for, monopolistic governments would see a gun ban as something positive when all factors are weighed.

[scorecard]

5 hours ago, MaxYakov said:

What's an assault rifle? (Hint: A common misconception quashed - AR = Armalite (https://www.armalite.com/) not Assault Rifle as in AR15).

 

The big question out to be: Why did not the school have adequate protection from attack by armed person(s) and a smuggled firearm? Did you notice how the attack was stopped, BTW?

 

I'd drop the "NRA is a malicious/terrorist organization" BS if I were you. It is neither constructive nor accurate and calling the NRA names does nothing to help solve the firearms problem in the US.

 

"The big question out to be: Why did not the school have adequate protection from attack by armed person(s) and a smuggled firearm? Did you notice how the attack was stopped, BTW?"

 

In other words, 'more guns', 'teachers carrying guns', 'armed security guards patrolling schools'. How can any logical person suggest this is appropriate? 

[Catoni]

37 minutes ago, scorecard said:

"The big question out to be: Why did not the school have adequate protection from attack by armed person(s) and a smuggled firearm? Did you notice how the attack was stopped, BTW?"

 

In other words, 'more guns', 'teachers carrying guns', 'armed security guards patrolling schools'. How can any logical person suggest this is appropriate? 

I’ve got an idea. Make it against the law for private ownership of firearms. Like Nazis Germany and the communist U.S.S.R. did. And like Venezuela and the Communist countries do.

    That way only criminal bad people and the government will be armed. Over time, the armed bad people will also eventually lose their guns. 

     Can’t be anything wrong with that idea. Right ? 

   And after we confiscate all the legally held weapons....if bad people are still determined to kill people, and start making explosives and bombs, or driving their vehicle into groups of people, we’ll make them face charges. 

Edited May 8, 2019 by Catoni
Addition

[IAMHERE]

I think I have read this book before. The two perps will not be punished enough.

 

[impulse]

11 hours ago, darksidedog said:

When will America wake up to the fact that the ease of access to a gun in their country is ludicrous? Last week, I said this sort of thing is becoming a weekly event and one week to the day, here we go again. NRA be damned!

 

Meanwhile, across the USA on that same day, hundreds of burglaries and dozens of rapes didn't happen last night because the bad guys knew that homeowners have easy, legal access to guns to defend themselves. 

 

Unfortunately, we only read about the bad things that did happen.  Rarely about all the bad things that didn't happen.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by impulse

[Spidey]

1 minute ago, impulse said:

 

Meanwhile, across the USA, hundreds of burglaries and dozens of rapes didn't happen last night because the bad guys knew that homeowners have easy, legal access to guns to defend themselves. 

 

Unfortunately, we only read about the bad things that did happen.  Never about all the bad things that didn't happen.

 

 

How do you know that they didn't happen? How about the homeowners who got involved in a shootout with the burglars and ended up dead?

[impulse]

7 minutes ago, Spidey said:

How do you know that they didn't happen? How about the homeowners who got involved in a shootout with the burglars and ended up dead?

 

Show me one of those incidents.  And I'll show you 10 where the burglars ran off, and another 10 where a home invasion resulted in the rape or death of the resident because they called 911 and the cops got there too late. 

 

Which is beside the point.  I'm talking about prevention altogether.  Take away the guns of law abiding citizens, and you have opened the season on burglary.

 

[Spidey]

3 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Show me one of those incidents.  And I'll show you 10 where the burglars ran off, and another 10 where a home invasion resulted in the rape or death of the resident because they called 911 and the cops got there too late. 

 

Which is beside the point.  I'm talking about prevention altogether.  Take away the guns of law abiding citizens, and you have opened the season on burglary.

 

The UK got it right. Removed guns from all citizens, law abiding and criminal. Sorted. Gun crime a very small fraction of what it is in the US.

 

 

Edited May 8, 2019 by Spidey

[darksidedog]

44 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Meanwhile, across the USA, hundreds of burglaries and dozens of rapes didn't happen last night because the bad guys knew that homeowners have easy, legal access to guns to defend themselves. 

 

Unfortunately, we only read about the bad things that did happen.  Never about all the bad things that didn't happen.

 

 

 

I don't think anyone disputes that a man has a right to defend his home.

Not that many high school students own one mind.

Home owners sometimes lose the plot with their other though and we regularly see the consequences.

Teenagers with issues also lose the plot from time to time and we have seen those consequences regularly also. Increasingly frequently actually.

Responsible ownership is one thing. Allowing anyone who hasn't already murdered or assaulted people, or been officially labelled a nutter, to buy a gun isn't the best selective process, don't you think?

Not forgetting of course, that the more guns in circulation, the more likely the home invader has one too. Someone is going to end up dead right? Deserved or otherwise.

But this is all OK is it? You don't think tougher restrictions on who can or cannot buy a gun are needed? The continuous murder can just continue unabated, because life is less important than an amendment that should have been struck out long ago, written as it was in a time of regular warfare.

[ravip]

 Ease of access to a gun, having more guns etc etc. lets say is fine. But, what makes a human to take a gun and just shoot innocent people and kids without any reason or aggression?

It is pure lunacy, is it not? And why are there so many psychopaths trotting around in the worlds most developed and civilised country? The very same country that has taken upon itself to be the worlds policeman and take to task (destroy) countries that it perceives to be misbehaving!

[impulse]

5 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

But this is all OK is it? You don't think tougher restrictions on who can or cannot buy a gun are needed? The continuous murder can just continue unabated, because life is less important than an amendment that should have been struck out long ago, written as it was in a time of regular warfare.

 

Of course I don't think it's okay.  I'm just pointing out that there is more than one consequence of restricting the rights of people to protect their homes and families in an era where there aren't (and never will be) enough cops to protect us.

 

And that doesn't even begin to address the other aspect of the 2nd amendment, which is to protect ourselves against a corrupt government, past, present or future.  Which has already happened repeatedly in many labor disputes where the strikers were set upon by government and company goon squads, and were able to fend them off.  Not to mention, Trump should be a cautionary tale.  Who knows what kind of madman may be elected in 2032?

 

And it's not as if there are no restrictions on who can and cannot buy a gun.

 

[riclag]

14 hours ago, darksidedog said:

When will America wake up to the fact that the ease of access to a gun in their country is ludicrous? Last week, I said this sort of thing is becoming a weekly event and one week to the day, here we go again. NRA be damned!

I suppose when the Dems and GOP act together and pass law! The NRA is made up of 5 million members of which 1 million are dems!

 One of the most honorific mass incidents  involved was in  Parkland ,FLA. For many months there was public demonstrations through out the country which did very little with Florida changing its gun laws(biggest change was the buying age) 

Edited May 8, 2019 by riclag

[riclag]

I must admit the way the world is so violent and  taking guns away from law abiding people with a constitution right to have them is a  crux for many

[OneEyedPie]

As an outside casual observer then it seems to me that the US either enjoys the newsfeed of X amount of deaths from the latest shoot em up or simply doesn’t care.

[Slain]

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•  #30

Posted 22 hours ago (edited)

  22 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Show me one of those incidents.  And I'll show you 10 where the burglars ran off, and another 10 where a home invasion resulted in the rape or death of the resident because they called 911 and the cops got there too late. 

 

Which is beside the point.  I'm talking about prevention altogether.  Take away the guns of law abiding citizens, and you have opened the season on burglary.

 

The UK got it right. Removed guns from all citizens, law abiding and criminal. Sorted. Gun crime a very small fraction of what it is in the US.

 Not really Just the automatic guns I think..It has saved many live though as you say

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and the off topic replies have been removed. 

[impulse]

19 minutes ago, Slain said:

•   22 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Show me one of those incidents.  And I'll show you 10 where the burglars ran off, and another 10 where a home invasion resulted in the rape or death of the resident because they called 911 and the cops got there too late. 

 

Which is beside the point.  I'm talking about prevention altogether.  Take away the guns of law abiding citizens, and you have opened the season on burglary.

 

The UK got it right. Removed guns from all citizens, law abiding and criminal. Sorted. Gun crime a very small fraction of what it is in the US.

 Not really Just the automatic guns I think..It has saved many live though as you say

 

Your'e not looking at the right statistic.  Gun deaths and homicides were always lower in the UK than the USA, even before they took the guns away.  

 

Meanwhile, violent crime in the UK hit a new record high, while violent crime in the USA has dropped significantly in the past 20 years.  It will be 50 years before we really know if taking the guns away was effective in the long term.  But then it will be too late.  A right taken away by the gov't rarely ever comes back.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-46984559

 

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/topic-pages/tables/table-1

 

There's something sobering about the thought that the woman you're planning to rape may have a gun in her nightstand...